Tomb of King Ladislas

The tomb of King Ladislas of Naples was commissioned by Queen Giovanna II, his sister and successor. Her sculptors - among them the stone carvers Andrea (Andrea da Firenze) and Matteo Nofri from Florence - followed a plan, probably laid out by a Neapolitan. Occupying virtually the entire height and breadth of the chancel of the church San Giovanni a Carbonara, the monument competes internationally with the multi-storied tombs of the della Scala in Verona, the equestrian monuments of the Visconti in Milan, and the canopied extravaganzas of the dukes of Burgundy in Dijon.

In the second level of the tomb a life-sized statue of the queen sitting next to her brother is represented. Giovanna's portrait is blocky and severe, an unassailable image of regality, her individuality repressed to express the dignity of her office. The monument culminated dramatically in the triumphant equestrian image of King Ladislas himself at its apex.